Liquid dispensers are configured with a pump that dispenses a predetermined amount of material, such as soap, during each actuation. However, instances arise in which the amount of material output by the dispenser pump is modified. For example, in the case where moisturizer is substituted for soap, it may be desirable to adjust the output of the pump so that a smaller quantity of moisturizer is dispensed in comparison to the quantity of soap originally dispensed. In addition to the ability to adjust the amount of material that is output by the dispenser, many dispensers are configured to utilize the amount of material that is output by the pump to calculate various information relating to the usage of the dispenser, such as the anticipated time for replacement of the refill container and anticipated replacement interval for the batteries used to operate the dispenser.
In order to identify when the output of the dispenser pump has been changed, a manual switch associated with a dispenser control unit is actuated to indicate that the change has been made. Thus, based on the updated pump output, the controller is able to perform the calculation of the usage data, including the anticipated refill interval for the refill container, as well as the anticipated replacement interval of the batteries used to power the dispenser. Unfortunately in many instances, users of such dispensers forget to actuate the manual switch after a change in pump output, resulting in the incorrect calculation of anticipated refill and battery replacement intervals that are erroneously based on the previous dispensing output of the pump and not the new current output.
Therefore, there is a need for an automatic pump detection system to automatically identify when the output of a dispenser pump has been changed. In addition, there is a need for a pump output detection system for a dispenser that automatically identifies the current amount of material output by the pump. Furthermore, there is a need for an automatic pump output detection system that calculates anticipated refill and battery replacement intervals of the dispenser based on the current output of the pump.